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Football

As proud as we are to have Nordstrom’s hometown of Seattle represented in this year’s Super Bowl, we have to admit: The Seahawks couldn’t ask for a more worthy adversary than the Denver Broncos and their legendary leader, 13-time Pro-Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning. Our favorite thing about Manning? Despite being extraordinarily competitive on the field, he happens to be totally hilarious when he’s off the clock.

Keep reading to see classic photos from throughout Peyton Manning’s illustrious football career—from the University of Tennessee Volunteers to the Indianapolis Colts to the Denver Broncos—plus our favorite clips of his other true calling: comedy.

Love him or hate him, outspoken Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has been the talk of the town since last Sunday’s Super Bowl-clinching win over the San Francisco 49ers. And by “town,” we don’t just mean our Nordstrom HQ home here in Seattle—we mean every media outlet from Sports Illustrated to CNN, plus the millions-strong, rant-happy Twitter-sphere.

Maybe we’re biased, but we’ll come right out and say it: We love this guy. And not just because he thinks nothing of busting a move with the Seattle Sea Gals after a big play (as pictured above).

Keep reading to see why Sherman’s football IQ far exceeds his smack-talking skills—plus, read a Q&A with the co-founder of Strideline socks, our favorite way to rep Seattle pride.

Are you ready for a weekend filled with intense match-ups? Get your snack strategy locked down with Bon Appetit magazine’s Five Keys to Nacho Nirvana, and launch a dual-pronged attack of team spirit and coziness with one of the Mitchell & Ness NFL hoodies pictured above.

And now for a moment of hometown pride: Aka bragging. Our local-hero Seattle Seahawks beat Arizona last night through feats of sheer strength and zen-like focus. Although it aired on a non-basic station, those of us cutting back on cable bills were still able to enjoy the game via animated GIFs, posted in real time on killer sports site the Bleacher Report.

Click below to see the best ones—and watch an impressive trick throw by Seattle QB Russell Wilson in the short video above.

In important sports news, our guy Russell Wilson made the pages of GQ. The star quarterback of our home team, the Seattle Seahawks, overcame crazy odds last season (he was a third-round pick) to tie the record for most passing touchdowns by a rookie, throw for three TDs in the Pro Bowl, lead his underdog team on a valiant playoff run, and be named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year. Seriously though…GQ!

Oh, and Wilson also made the cover of ESPN magazine this month. (Read the article about coach Pete Carroll’s new-wave school of hard knocks here. Hint: It involves more yoga and less yelling. How Seattle.)

Not to brag, but people are even predicting Seahawks for a Super Bowl win. First things first, though: We’ll be tuned to CBS tonight at 8pm ET, to watch the ‘Hawks take on Green Bay (in a preseason grudge match sure to pick up where last season’s substitute-ref debacle left off).

Which team are you pulling for? Check the full schedule here, and pick up some new gear to show your allegiance. Our current favorites are these understated fitted caps, in a wind-stopping wool blend ideal for frigid bleachers (or your living room).

Citizens of our native Washington are infamously avid fans of the home team. (Many UW alums roam the floors here at Nordstrom HQ—there’s even a photo floating around our archives of young Nordstrom brothers suited up for the UW hoops team, circa the mid-1980s.)

Hence Seattleites are going crazy lately for the suddenly dominant Seahawks. After several blowout games late in the season, they’re poised to make noise in the playoffs (starting with a wild-card game against the Redskins, this Sunday at 1:30pm PST on Fox).

This comes as a great finish to a season that began with fans (at home and across the country) oddly polarized by stylistic minutiae. After taking over the reigns as official uniform designers for the 2012-13 season, Oregon-based Nike (also responsible for the previously noted swagger of our sister state’s college football program) threatened to radicalize the look of every team in the league—or so imaginative fans conjectured. Ultimately, the only team that received a noticeable change visually was Nike’s closest neighbors to the north, the Seattle Seahawks. It came in the form of subtle but striking pops of chartreuse to symbolize the Great Northwest’s greenery, and small wing-like emblems inspired by Native American art:

Nike designers must keep up on their street-style reports, as controlled doses of neon continue to pop up in all walks of menswear (especially shoes—check out additional, bright-soled examples by Walk-Over, 1901, and Cole Haan LunarGrand).

This last photo shows Seattle running back Marshawn ‘Beast Mode’ Lynch introducing the new uni designs a few months ago. As impressive as cool-headed QB (and strong Rookie of the Year candidate) Russell Wilson is—and as fun as it is to watch over-excitable coach Pete Carroll wig out in slo-mo after a killer completion—nothing really tops this self-reflective breakdown of Lynch’s legendary run a few years back against New Orleans. Enjoy:

Our corporate headquarters in Seattle is a stone’s throw from the University of Washington, and our office is packed with UW alums—however, this being a style blog, we have to touch on the University of Oregon’s reputation as steeziest team in the league.

Thanks to Oregon-based Nike, the Jedi masters of sports design, the Oregon Ducks have a rotating, interchangeable lineup of helmets, jerseys and pants, which the team combines in different ways each week. Ducks fans love it; others might view it as unnecessary fashion theatrics. To each their own.

What’s hard to dispute, though, is that the team backs up sartorial tricks with serious game. With standouts like a lightning-fast running back who played peewee football under coach Snoop Lion (aka Snoop Dogg—yes, really) and a freshman quarterback from Hawaii who’s ice-cold under pressure, the Ducks are fun to watch on multiple levels.

Here’s a few of their bolder color combos so far this season, plus a video that summarizes Nike’s technical innovations—while previewing the all-white everything Oregon will wear tomorrow against USC.

Daniel Drewes, one of our online buyers, recommended six of his favorite top-shelf, small-batch beers for Labor Day weekend—all of which come in handy aluminum cans.

Once a sure sign of low-brow beers (no disrespect, cheap beer holds a place in our heart too), cans are suddenly a fast-growing movement in the craft brewing industry, which has traditionally stuck to bottles. Now, with options like the six below, even brew connoisseurs like Daniel can grip an all-American aluminum can with confidence.

Best part? They’re practical. The thin metal blocks light better than glass, gets colder faster in a cooler, and eliminates the risk of broken glass when things get rowdy (and isn’t that the goal?) at your barbecue, campsite or tailgate party.

1. New Belgium ‘Shift’ Pale Lager.“My new favorite session beer [lower alcohol volume]. Some good hop flavor, but a nice day-drinker to round out summer and start fall tailgates.”

2. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.“One of the most widely distributed craft beers—it’s my old standby when I’m at a bar that doesn’t have a more diverse selection. I love a good hop flavor, and this one’s mild enough to be a good session ale.”

3. Fort George ‘Sunrise’ OPA.“Fort George is a great new brewery out of Astoria, Oregon. They make a great oatmeal pale—the oatmeal gives it a nice creaminess for a pale ale, while it still has good hop aroma and bitterness.”